Fanta Launches 'Play Fanta,' a Global Graphic-Novel Campaign

Ogilvy & Mather Behind 190-Market Teen-Focused Push

Fanta is launching global campaign that is designed to make the world a little more playful.

Created by agency Ogilvy & Mather, the campaign, dubbed "Play Fanta," has as its cornerstone a digital graphic novel that has embedded within it playable content aimed at teens. "Saving the Source" tells the story of a group of teenagers who are on a mission to save "play," after it disappears from their town -- turning its citizens into sad, gray characters known as the "playless."

Rolling out globally in 190 markets, the campaign is aimed at helping teens understand and appreciate the value of play. "At its core, Fanta seeks to be the champion of play for teens," said Wendy Clark, senior VP- Sparkling Brand Center at Coca-Cola. "And science tells us teens need more play."

Fanta is one of Coca-Cola's $10 billion brands, and the company's second-largest brand outside the U.S. According to Kantar Media, Fanta spent $2 million in the U.S. last year, down from $4.2 million in 2011.

The graphic novel, "Saving the Source," was developed by Hollywood scriptwriting studio The Alchemists, with animation by Psyop. According to Ogilvy & Mather Executive Group Director Marianne Pizzi, the brief was to create a platform where every piece of the communication was playable. It could have been anything -- a film, even -- but for the sake of interactivity, it was turned into a nine-chapter graphic novel with hidden games and elements. The characters in the game have been used in Fanta communications for years, but this is the first time they are speaking, said Executive Creative Director Corinna Falusi.

The novel can be experienced in a multitude of ways. For advanced devices, there is an HTML5 version that offers parallax scrolling, full game play and full multi-track audio with rich interaction. Older devices can use an HTML4 version that doesn't include the game-play elements, and there is a plain HTML version for older Blackberrys and Nokia phones that contains just the images and narrative. The agency also created a native iOS and Android app.

There's even a printed version that is being sent to local markets that can be used in a variety of ways. According to Ms. Pizzi, markets can choose to download the graphic novel and print it, or use it in partnership with other companies like 7-11 or McDonald's. The team is trying to emphasize Fanta's brand attributes of "orange" and "bubbly" with the campaign. For example, one of the games involves a character flying his jetpack over an orange Fanta waterfall, dodging obstacles along the way. TV spots and a film that "looks like a Hollywood trailer" will promote the graphic novel and the campaign, according to Ms. Falusi.

This is the second teen-focused campaign from Coca-Cola in as many weeks. Just last week, the company introduced "The Aah Effect," a global digital campaign that will span multiple websites, with each destination offering a snackable piece of content like funny videos, games, or images. That work was created by Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore.